Boy A

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Review ------ Creepy and involving... From the beginning, Trigell weaves a sense of drama and a disturbing feeling of inevitability (Independent) Trigell brilliantly depicts the pressures of living with a terrible secret... written with a naive clarity which evokes the unfamiliar wonders of the outside world (Guardian) A challenging novel of atrocity and redemption... [A] fast-paced, thought provoking read, perhaps all the more significant for the questions it can't answer (Big Issue) Synopsis -------- 'A is for Apple. A bad apple.'Jack has spent most of his life in juvenile institutions, to be released with a new name, new job, new life. At 24, he is utterly innocent of the world, yet guilty of a monstrous childhood crime.To his new friends, he is a good guy with occasional flashes of unexpected violence. To his new girlfriend, he is strangely inexperienced and unreachable. To his case worker, he's a victim of the system and of media-driven hysteria. And to himself, Jack is on permanent trial: can he really start from scratch, forget the past, become someone else? Is a new name enough? Can Jack ever truly connect with his new friends while hiding a monstrous secret?This searing and heartfelt novel is a devastating indictment of society's inability to reconcile childhood innocence with reality. From the Publisher ------------------ "'Boy A' won the Waverton Award for best first novel of 2004; the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, for best book in the commonwealth by an author under 35; and The World Book Day Prize 2008 for the most discussion worthy novel by a living writer." About the Author ---------------- Jonathan Trigell was born in 1974 and lived in St Albans, Manchester, Derby and Stone before moving to France to work in the winter-sports industry. In 2002 he completed an MA in novel writing at Manchester University. He now lives in Chamonix Mont Blanc, where he edits an English-language newspaper, writes freelance ski-journalism and is finishing his second novel, Cham.